NS Design is pleased to announce that the popular NXT series double bass and cello now include an exciting new performance feature by Ned Steinberger, the JackPot™. The JackPot is also a standard feature on the recently-announced NXT violins. The JackPot is a combination potentiometer and rotary switch which is able to completely bypass the instruments’ volume circuitry, producing a stronger signal level, greater warmth, and more overall intensity.

How it works

Conventional controls in self-powered (passive) pickups reduce the volume level by bleeding a portion of the output signal to ground. Rotating the knob counterclockwise increases the portion that is connected to ground, thus reducing the output level until it is fully grounded and the volume is zero. However, when the knob is rotated fully clockwise for maximum volume, there is still a portion of the signal that bleeds to ground, and as a result the output level never reaches the full level the pickup would achieve if it were wired directly to the output jack.

The JackPot’s rotary switch clicks open when the knob reaches the end of its full on (clockwise) rotation. The open switch lifts the ground to the pot, eliminating the load on the pickups and allowing the full signal to reach the output jack. When the knob is rotated counterclockwise, the ground to the pot is reconnected so the pot returns to standard operation. In this mode the sound and function are exactly the same as an ordinary control.

With the JackPot, players can run full on, with the pickups wired directly to the output jack, yet still have a trusty volume knob to back off instantly to a lower level when needed.

Visit the JackPot page for more information.